Developing mathematics instruction for English Language Learners (ELLs) that is aligned with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) can be achieved through research-based teaching practices that often run counter to commonsense notions of language and mathematics.
Although the Modern Language Association reported a 6.9% decrease in college foreign language class enrollment in 2013, dual language elementary programs are on the rise. It is a common assumption that students in bilingual education programs will come out with a mediocre handle on two languages, resulting in no mastery and lower overall performance. However, researchers say that students will at first be successful in their native language while scoring below grade-level in their second language, but by middle school the gap disappears and bilingual students greatly surpass the test scores of monolinguals. “It helps for parents to understand that,” says Virginia Collier, a professor and researcher of dual language education at George Washington University. “There is a recognized achievement gap in the second language, but it closes.” As these elementary programs thrive, they must adapt the Common Core standards to each school’s unique bilingual program. This involves very detailed translations of the specific language of the Common Core as well as cultural consideration of reading material in other languages. The process first began with Spanish translation and educators found that the Common Core meshes very well with the language heavy curriculum of bilingual programs.
On May 15 through 17, the Los Angeles Convention Center was packed with families and readers of all ages for the fourth LéaLA, LA’s Spanish -language book fair. This free event is organized by the University of Guadalajara and not only promotes literacy in the Spanish lanuage, but also offers a venue for celebrating Latin American and Latino culture in Southern California. LéaLA is the only Spanish-language book fair in the United States.
This year’s guest of honor was Mexico City, which organized exhibitions and events in the Guest of Honor Pavilion that focused on the phenomena that influence the culture in Mexico’s capital city, such as exile and migration, the artistic and literary vanguard, diversity and multicultural interactions.
Marisol Schulz, director and founder of LeaLA, remarked, “This fair has a mission, which goes beyond opening the market of Spanish books (although that is part of it) and it involves responding to the need of a representative population of the Latino community to have access to the cultures of their countries of origin. Because of this lack of access to reading material in Spanish, LeaLA provides a space where they can find books that speak to them of their heritage and in the language of their ancestors and for many in their native tongue.”
Mexico’s Consul General in Los Angeles, Carlos Sada Solano, beamed”LeaLA is without a doubt the most important cultural event carried out by Mexico in another country.”
Exhibitors included publishers and educational institutions. Attendees had access to thousands of imported books sold directly from publishers, including bilingual titles and books in indigenous languages of the Americas. The fair also had events about indigenous cultures, culinary arts, theater, and children’s literature as well as poetry readings, book signings and writing workshops.
For more information, visit the LéaLA website.
Empathy Increases with Linguistic Experience
Young children only have to hear more than one language spoken at home to become better communicators, a new study from University of Chicago psychologists finds. Researchers discovered that children from multilingual environments are better at interpreting a speaker’s meaning than children who are exposed only to their native tongue. Surprisingly, children do not even have to be bilingual themselves to benefit; exposure to more than one language is the key for building effective social communication skills. This study, published online in Psychological Science, is the first to demonstrate the social benefits of just being exposed to multiple languages.
A recent study by the Center for American Progress suggests that a two-generation approach is the best way to help educate English Language Learners (ELLs). Numerous studies have shown that parental engagement in school yields higher levels of academic achievement. This is even more so the case for children with greater educational barriers, such as low income levels, low family educational attainment, or immigrant status. ELLs are more likely than non-ELLs to encounter these barriers. However, for the same reasons a two-generation approach is needed, parental engagement programs are difficult to initiate. Low-income parents face greater challenges when it comes to balancing work and family responsibility, and ELLs often struggle with the added challenge of a language barrier. The study shows the ways that communities can successfully implement a two-generation approach in order to close the language gap and expand opportunities for English learners.
Microaggressions are defined as “brief, everyday exchanges that send denigrating messages to certain individuals because of their group membership.” This definition comes from psychologist and professor Derald Wing Sue, who re-popularized the 1970s academic phrase in 2007. People perpetuating these microagressions often do so without any intention to offend and are unaware of any harm caused, as the acclimation to indirectly oppressive language happens below the level of awareness of even well-intentioned members of the dominant culture. These small phrases can perpetuate the casual degradation of any marginalized group. The term microaggression is most commonly associated with race and ethnicity, but eventually branched out to gender and sexuality, resulting in active campaigns against phrases such as “man up,” “run like a girl,” or the use of the word “gay” to describe something in a negative light. Similarly, there is a slew of casual phrases that subtly belittle and exclude the physically disabled. When someone is “upstanding,” “upright,” “straight as an arrow,” or brave enough to “stand up” for what they believe in, this is perceived as overwhelmingly positive, while “crooked” or “twisted” individuals are left “without a leg to stand on.”
Although China boasts a history of over 5,000 years, the modern nation-state we know today is only about 65 years old. Communist Party chairman Mao Zedong proclaimed the establishment of the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949, after the Chinese Civil War. Subsequently, the illiteracy rate of China, which stood at roughly 85-90% when it was first calculated at the turn of the 20th century, began to decrease significantly from the 1950s onward. By 1959, illiteracy rates among youth and adults (ages twelve to 40) had fallen from 80% to 43%, and they have been steadily decreasing since. China is now expected to reach near-universal youth literacy in 2015. China’s literacy success has been described as “perhaps the single greatest educational effort in human history” (Peterson, 1997).
After a wave of school closures, students took to the streets in Dublin to protest exploitation and chaos in international education
Ireland is a popular study-abroad destination and enjoys a flourishing English-language education industry, estimated at raking in about €80 million for the Irish economy. However, on May 5 international students protested in Dublin trying to raise public awareness of Ireland’s international education crisis.
Today, over 70 delegates from across the U.S. are in Washington to meet with their representatives in Congress to ask for more federal support for language education.
With the guidance of the Joint National Committee for Languages/National Council for Languages and International Studies (JNCL-NCLIS), these education and business leaders are asking members of the House and Senate to support the recognition and funding of language education as a national priority through a range of actions including pledging their support for the American Council of the Teaching of Foreign Languages’ (ACTFL’s) upcoming Lead with Languages campaign which is set to galvanize public opinion; for language-specific additions to the proposed re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA, or No Child Left Behind); and for sponsorship of the proposed World Language Advancement Act 2015 which would reinstate the Foreign Language Assistance Program funding for K-12 schools.
Speaking with LM editor, Daniel Ward, Richard Brecht, American Councils for International Education, declared that “we have never been in a better position to change policy.”
An in-depth report will follow in print and online.
Language is as much a skill as it is a subject. Therefore, language learning must involve not only vocabulary and grammar study, but also practice and training of the skills necessary to communicate in a foreign language: speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
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